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THE BATTLE 



...OF... 



GUILFORD COURT HOUSE 



AN ADDRESS 



before the Tennessee Division of the 



Sons of the American Revolution 



...BY... 



J. B. KILLEBREW, A. M., Ph. D. 

At Nashville, March 15, 1901 



PRESS OF 

S. B. Newman & Co.^ K>foxviLi,E 
1902 



THE BATTLE OF GUILFORD COURT HOUSE 



(An address delivered at a meeting of the Tennessee Division of Sons 
of the American Revolution, held in Nashville, Tennessee, March 15, 190L 
by J. B. Killebrew, A. M., Ph. D.) 

Sons of the American Revolution: 

One hundred and twenty years ago on the 15 of March last the battle 
of Guilford Court House was fought in Guilford county. North Caro- 
lina, six miles north of the present town of Greensboro, between the British 
forces commanded by Lord Cornwallis and the American forces commanded 
by Gen. Greene. 

In order to present to your minds a clear understanding of this battle 
and to invest it with a proper setting, I must go back a few months and 
trace briefly the course of events that moulded the condition of affairs which 
brought on the battle — a battle which in its consequences, led to the termi- 
nation of the long struggle between the colonies and the mother country, 
securing for the former all the blessings of a free and stable government, 
and forcing the latter to surrender the most splendid jewel in her imperial 
crown. 

The surrender of Gen. Lincoln with 6,000 men at Charleston, South 
Carolina, May 12, 1780, left the American forces of the Southern department 
without a general. Washington recommended Gen. Greene for the place; 
but Congress, having become incensed with Greene because of his severe ■ 
arraignment of a new law regulating the commissary department, of which 
he was chief, appointed Gen. Gates, the hero of Saratoga, to take command. 
Gates was totally unfit for the position. That old cynic, Charles Lee, who 
had no love for Washington or any other American officer after the battle 
of Monmouth where Washington severely upbraided him on the field of 
battle for cowardice, warned Gates that his "northern laurels would turn to 
southern willows." His prediction was shortly verified. 

Sir Henry Clinton returned to New York and Lord Cornwallis was 
placed in command of the British forces in the South. He established his 
grand depot for military supplies at Camden, South Carolina, a small vil- 
lage on the Wateree River near the center of the state and about 110 miles 
from Charleston. Lord Rawdon was placed in charge. Cornwallis de- 
termined to remain in Charleston until the summer heats were over and the 
harvests were gathered and threshed. When Sir Henry Clinton left for New 
York he fully believed the war in the South was over; that the rebels were 
conquered, and he determined to exact military duty of all Carolinians of 
suitable age. This stirred the bitterest opposition of the Americans and 
raised a perfect hornet's nest. If they had to fight at all they would fight 
for liberty and self-government. The old game-cock, Sumter, after the 
surrender of Lincoln, having taken refuge in the Savannahs surrounded by 
swamps and canebrakes, soon emerged with 600 followers and struck heavy 



blows on all foraging and recruiting parties within reach of him. Of 
weapons, they had scarcely any to begin with, but in a few weeks they were 
liberally supplied by their captured prisoners or slain enemies. 

On July 25, 1780, Gen. Gates arrived at the American camp on Deep 
River in North Carolina. He found that DeKalb's division of the army 
had been detained at that place for want of provisions. Gates ordered De- 
Kalb to move at once on the direct road to Camden. It was another "On 
to Richmond" order. The route led through a desolate region of sand hills, 
swamps and pine barrens. The troops had nothing to subsist upon but lean 
cattle, berries, green corn and unripe fruits. With such a poor commissary 
many of them fell by the wayside, the victims of indigestion and dysentery. 
Gates was joined beyond the Peedee River by a few Virginia regulars, who 
had remained in the country since the fall of Charleston, sometimes hiding, 
sometimes falling on detached parties of the enemy, and sometimes being 
hard pressed for provisions. He was also joined by some North Carolina 
militia under Gen. Caswell. By August 13 the Americans had reached 
Clermont, 12 miles from Camden, where they were reinforced by 700 Vir- 
ginia militia under Gen. Edward Stevens. Meanwhile Lord Cornwallis 
came up from Charleston and assumed command of all the forces at Cam- 
den. Of Cornwallis' presence Gates was totally ignorant. He took up his 
line of march from Clermont to Camden, and the same afternoon Lord 
Cornwallis started from Camden in pursuit of Gates. They met a little 
after midnight some seven miles from Camden and between that place and 
Clermont. A sharp skirmish ensued in which both armies suffered some 
losses. Gates found that he had miscalculated the strength of Rawdon's 
forces. DeKalb, the most conservative of the commanders under Gates, 
was for retreating to Clermont. Gen. Stevens, however, said it was too 
late to do anything but fight, and fight they did; but it resulted in a most 
disastrous defeat for the Americans. DeKalb was mortally wounded. The 
militia threw down their muskets and fled in terror from the pursuit of 
Tarleton's cavalry. There was no rallying among them but the regulars 
stood their ground manfully and bore the brunt of the battle. Col. Gunby 
with the first Marylanders fought desperately. Though often driven back, 
they quickly rallied and even withstood the charge of the bayonet until 
Tarleton with his cavalry bore down upon their flanks with resistless im- 
petuosity. This threw them into confusion and drove them into the swamps 
where the cavalry could not follow. 

The result of this battle, as Charles Lee had predicted, withered the 
laurels of Gates and turned them into "southern willows." Gates first went 
to Charlotte and then to Hillsboro, where he gathered the fragments of his 
wrecked army, which altogether did not exceed 1400 men. Hillsboro was 
distant 180 miles from Camden. His men arrived at that place, gloomy, 
dispirited, and dismayed. They were without pay, without provisions, and 
without tents. They had suffered the greatest deprivations during their 
hasty retreat and had lost all confidence and many of them even respect for 
Gates. Some of his officers did not hesitate to treat him with disdain. Gov. 
Nash of North Carolina ordered out the militia and did everything in his 
power to relieve the dreadful situation. 

After this defeat Cornwallis felt sure that the rebels would never rally 



again. He despatched Major Patrick Ferguson, a brave, accomplished and 
skillful officer, to the western parts of Carolina with a force of between 1000 
and 1200 men, constituting the left wing of the British army and ordered 
him "to harass the Whigs, inspirit the Tories, and embody the militia under 
the royal banner." He was also to overawe and subdue the "over mountain 
men." Some of the Whigs, who had British papers in their pockets giving 
them protection, were hanged. These measures soon exasperated the 
patriots, and a cry for vengeance went up all through the mountain regions. 
There was a gathering of the clans. Sevier, Shelby, Campbell, Cleveland, 
McDowell, Winston, Hambright, Lacey, and Williams collected their fol- 
lowers clothed, most of them, in homespun made into hunting shirts, and 
with William Campbell as commander won at King's Mountain one of the 
most memorable victories of the Revolutionary War. Ferguson was killed, 
and all his troops were either slain, wounded, or captured. Everywhere the 
news of the victory was received with transports of joy and pride by the 
Whigs. Jefferson said it was "the joyful annunciation of that turn of the 
tide of success which terminated the Revolutionary War with the seal of 
our independence." Much, however, remained to be done. Cornwallis was 
at Charlotte when he received the startling intelligence of Ferguson's defeat 
and death. To him it appeared an irreparable disaster ; for his position was 
surrounded with the most threatening dangers. The whole region around 
Charlotte swarmed with armed men ready to attack him. He began his re- 
treat to South Carolina in the night and Generals Davis and Davidson of 
North Carolina hung on his flanks and rear like avenging angels. They 
slew his sentries, cut off his foraging parties, and struck him the most deadly 
blows at every opportunity. Weakened and discouraged he finally reached 
Winnsboro, S. C, about 25 miles northwest of Camden and within reach of 
Lord Rawdon and supplies. 

These disasters to Cornwallis and the splendid victory at King's Moun- 
tain raised the hitherto drooping spirits of the Whigs to the highest en- 
thusiasm. Marion, the swamp fox, and his friends and neighbors, were 
soon in the saddle. These were brave men of hardy nature, sterling virtues, 
and abstemious habits. They risked everything for liberty and they kept the 
enemy busy. 

General Gates took his little army to Charlotte. Nathaniel Greene ar- 
rived on December 2, and took command on the next day, superceding Gen. 
Gates. In valor, resources, and ability. Gen. Greene was inferior to no other 
general in the American service except Washington. In vigilance, diligence, 
and perseverance, and in a knowledge of details, he was without a rival. He 
was often defeated but never discouraged. Of all the generals in the ser- 
vice he was the best qualified to repair or profit by a defeat. The first duty 
of Greene after taking command was to reorganize and discipline his troops. 
He inspired them with confidence and infused them with his own high patri- 
otic spirit. In the camp gloom gave place to hopefulness and cheerfulness, 
and the soldiers felt and believed that their operations would be directed in 
the future by a general in fact as well as in name. The policy of Gen. 
Greene was the reverse of that pursued by Gates. A pitched battle was to 
be avoided. The enemy were to be harried, teased, worried by frequent at- 
tacks on their flanks and rear, by capturing their provision trains, and by 



sending light cavalry to awe the Tories and inspire the Whigs, and so pre- 
vent the British commander from organizing the Royalists into auxiliary 
forces. 

As the region around Charlotte had been exhausted of its supplies, 
Greene was compelled to separate his army into two divisions. One of these 
under Morgan took its position at Grindal's Ford at the junction of the 
Pacolet and Broad rivers in the northern part of South Carolina. Morgan 
was ordered to collect and organize the militia within this district. Greene 
himself took the other division to the eastern side of the Peedee River op- 
posite the Cheraw Hills. Cornwallis was about 70 miles southwest of 
Greene, where he was awaiting reinforcements of 1500 men under Gen. 
Leslie from Charleston. Morgan's headquarters were about 50 miles north- 
west of Cornwallis, the three forces forming a triangle with Cornwallis at 
the southern angle. Tarleton with 1100 choice troops was despatched by 
Cornwallis in pursuit of Morgan. The two forces came together at Cow- 
pens. 

In the encounter, which took place at Cowpens, Tarleton's force was 
almost exterminated. The battle was fought on January 17, 1781, and was 
characterized by English writers as one that reflected more dishonor oti 
the British arms than any other engagement during the whole war. 

The battle was one of the most brilliant ever fought upon American 
soil, and as an appreciation of his services in winning this victory Congress 
afterwards voted a gold medal to Morgan. "Seldom," says Chief Justice 
John Marshall, "has a battle in which greater numbers were not engaged 
been so important in its consequences." Lord Cornwallis lost a fifth of his 
army and the most active part of his cavalry. 

The British lost nearly a thousand men killed, wounded and captured, 
while the Americans had only 12 killed and' 60 wounded. This was a stun- 
ning blow to Cornwallis. When he heard that Tarleton had been defeated, 
he could scarcely believe it, for that officer had never before failed to win 
the victory. He set about at once to retrieve the disaster at any cost; and 
now began a series of races between the two commanders that continued 
without cessation for nearly four months and culminated in the battle of 
Guilford Court House. 

Morgan, not being strong enough to pursue his enemy and wishing to 
secure arms and prisoners, which had been captured, left his baggage be- 
hind and set out for the country beyond the Catawba. He was closely 
pressed by the whole of Cornwallis' command and was saved from capture 
by the providential rising of the Catawba River. Gen. Greene, having left 
his division of the army in charge of Gen. Huger, in person joined him five 
days after he had crossed that stream. Cornwallis, though foiled by the 
rising of the river, did not give up the chase. He pressed Morgan so closely 
that the latter escaped a second time only by the rising of the Yadkin at 
Trading tork. This checked Cornwallis in his pursuit as he was again 
baffled in his efforts by what the good people of that day ascribed to the in- 
tervention of a beneficent Providence. Greene reached Guilford Court 
House on February 7, 1781, and by the 9th he was joined by the remainder 
of his army, led by Gen. Huger of South Carolina and by Col. Henry Lee 
(Light Horse Harry), with his cavalry. This was the first appearance of 



Lee with Greene's army. By this time Cornwallis had crossed the Yadkin 
and was at the old Moravian town of Salem, 25 miles west of Greene. His 
design was to keep Greene from crossing the Dan River into Halifax county, 
Virginia, and so compel him to fight before he could receive reinforcements ; 
but Greene knew the weakness of his army and determined to retreat. 
Morgan was sick with ague and rheumatism and Col. Otho Williams was 
placed in command of the rear guard with Colonels Howard, Washington, 
and Lee as his subordinates. Greene led the van with the luggage and 
stores. 

And now began one of the most memorable military races recorded in 
the annals of American history. Great abilities were displayed by the com- 
manders on both sides. The march was through a thinly populated country, 
cut up by streams and tangled by forests and broken by ravines. The roads 
were frozen; the rains at times fell in torrents and the Americans had no 
tents, were thinly clad, and were often without shoes. They had a scanty 
supply of provisions, no comforts whatever and but little rest. Both armies 
moved at the rate of 30 miles a day. On February 13, Greene crossed the 
Dan in boats and Williams with the rear guard crossed the following day. 
Cornwallis reached the ferry on the 15th to find that his enemy had escaped. 
He was deeply chagrined. "Nothing," says the Annual Register, "could 
surpass the grief and vexation of the British army when they learned that 
all their toils and exertions, hardships and deprivations had been in vain 
and that all their hopes were frustrated." 

Lord Cornwallis from prudential considerations declined to follow 
Greene into Virginia. After permitting his wearied army to repose for a 
day or two, he set out for Hillsboro, pursued by Lee and Washington with 
their cavalry, by two Maryland companies, and by Pickens and his Carolina 
militia, all commanded by Col. Otho Williams. The pursuers were now 
the pursued. Lee and Washington, with their light troops were able to 
strike a blow and retire before Cornwallis could get ready to strike back. 
Tarleton's legion never recovered from the deadly shock administered by 
Morgan at the Cowpens, and his horses, being farm hacks without mettle, 
style or endurance, were utterly unfitted for quick action. Upon arriving at 
Hillsboro, Cornwallis erected the royal standard and called for reinforce- 
ments, proclaiming that he had driven the rebel army from the province. 
"Many hundreds," says Tarleton in his history of the American war, "rode 
into camp to talk over the proclamation and to take a view of the King's 
troops, but there were but few enlistments." Lee and Pickens in their ex- 
cursions about Hillsboro captured and killed a body of 300 or 400 Loyalists 
commanded by Col. Pyle, a noted Tory. 

After a ten days rest and after being reinforced by 1000 Virginia militia 
under Gen. Stevens, by Col. Richard Campbell's regulars and by Pickens' 
brigade, Greene recrossed the Dan, believing that if Cornwallis were left 
undisturbed he would soon have North Carolina at his feet. Many Royalists 
upon hearing that Greene had again entered the state returned to their homes. 
Cornwallis left Hillsboro on February 26, and took his position on Alamance 
Creek across the Haw from Greene. This position opened his communica- 
tion with Wilmington where he had his depot of provisions. Greene was 15 
miles from Cornwallis on the highlands of Troublesome Creek and Reedy 



(J 

Fork, one of the tributaries of the Haw. Several sharp encounters took 
place between the advance guards of the two armies. On the 10th Greene 
received additional reinforcements which consisted of Virginia militia under 
Gen. Robert Lawson and two brigades of North Carolina militia under Gen- 
eral John Butler and Pinketham Eaton. Col. William Campbell with 60 
followers had joined him before on March 3. His entire army, according 
to official returns at this time, amounted to 4,243 foot and 161 cavalry. 

Judge Schenck gives Greene's total number as 1,715. 

Greene had with him the commands of Col. Wm. Preston, Col. Wm. 
Campbell, Col. Charles Lynch, Watkins' dragoons, the Virginia militia under 
Stevens and Lawson and the North Carolina militia under Butler and Eaton. 
The number of men under these various commands has never been satis- 
factorily settled, but Judge Schenck puts the whole of Greene's forces at 
5,668 men, rank and file, which is 1,264 more than that given in the official 
reports. 

Cornwallis had 2,400 men, but they were all seasoned veterans, well 
equipped with arms and clothing, schooled in warfare, whose safety de- 
pended alone upon standing firmly united. 

Coinwallis, as a precaution before attacking Greene, sent his baggage 
and wagons to Bell's Mills on Deep River, eight miles from Guilford Court 
House. Greene had adopted as a wise policy frequent changes of position. 
His light troops were kept between him and the enemy. This was done 
to deter the Tories and to deceive Cornwallis, while awaiting the reinforce- 
ments which joined him on the 10th. 

On the 14th Greene assembled his whole army at Guilford Court House 
and sent his heavy baggage to Speedwell Iron Works on Troublesome Creek, 
some twelve miles distant. Both commanders were now ready for the con- 
flict. The advance guard of the British under Tarleton met Lee's legion 
on the morning of the 15th. The skirmish between these two partisan troop- 
ers was brief but severe. Lee had superior horses in weight and strength 
and bore down his adversary in the charge. Tarleton retreated; Lee fol- 
lowed but had to retire precipitately upon meeting the main force of the 
British army. 

Greene meanwhile arranged his troops in three lines on both sides of the 
old Salisbury or New Garden road west of Guilford Court House. The 
general direction of this road is a little north of east and Cornwallis was 
approaching from the west. The Continental troops were arranged very 
much as they had been at the Cowpens. The North Carolina militia under 
Gen. Eaton were placed in the center and at right angles to the old Salis- 
bury or New Garden road and north of it and Eaton's left rested on the 
road. Butler's brigade of North Carolina militia was placed on the south 
side, his right resting on the road. The whole line was protected by a 
zigzag rail fence which separated the woods in which they were drawn up 
from the open field in their front. Left of Butler were placed 100 men com- 
manded by Arthur Forbis of Guilford county, one of the bravest officers 
of the North Carolina troops. These were sturdy, solid, Scotch Irish Pres- 
byterians and Forbis himself was an elder in the church. 

Two six-pounder cannons under the command of Capt. Singleton of 
Virginia were placed in the road a little in advance of the North Carolina 



militia. On the right flank of Eaton's brigade, Col. Wm. Washington with 
Kirkwood's Delawares and Lynch's riflemen numbering altogether 280 men 
formed a covering party, while Col. William Campbell, of Kings Mountain 
fame, with 60 men, and Major Joseph Winston's command formed the cov- 
ering party on the left of Butler's brigade. A short distance to the rear of 
Campbell was Lee's legion which numbered 75 cavalry and 82 infantry. 
Three hundred yards in the rear of the North Carolina militia the Vir- 
ginia militia were formed into line. Gen. Stevens with his brigade occupied 
the southern side of the old Salisbury road and at right angles to it and im 
mediately in the rear of Butler's militia and Campbell's trooperSi^ 

On the north side of the old Salisbury road was stationed Lawson's 
brigade of Virginia militia, which held the same position on the north side 
that Stevens militia held on the south. 

Five hundred and fifty yards in the rear of the Virginia militia the Con- 
tinental troops and regulars which included two brigades were drawn up in a 
semi-circular line in an old field on the north side of the old Salisbury road. 
The first brigade was composed of two Virginia regiments commanded by 
Gen. Huger. One of the regiments was led by Col. John Green and the 
other was led by Lieut.-Col. Samuel Hawes. Thi£ brigade was on the right 
of the line. The second brigade led by Col. Otho Williams who commanded 
the rear guard in Greene's retreat into Virginia was composed of the first 
and second Maryland regiments, the first led by Col. Gunby and the second 
by Col. Benjamin Ford. No finer regiment was in the service than the first 
Maryland. It had been with Washington in his New Jersey campaigns ; it 
was under DeKalb when he joined Gates; it withstood the shock of the 
British army at Camden and saved the army from destruction ; it did valiant 
service at Cowpens under Lieutenant-Colonel Howard; and it stripped 
Tarleton of his laurels. 

The second Maryland regiment had never been in action and was no 
better than the militia. Its conduct was the main cause of the retreat of 
the Americans at the Battle of Guilford Court House. Two pieces of ar- 
tillery were placed at the flanks of these two brigades. 

After the cavalry fight between Lee and Tarleton, Cornwallis moved 
rapidly forward to attack Greene's main army. At Little Horsepen Creek 
the head of Cornwallis' forces came in sight of the American troops. Single- 
ton, who, with his two six-ponnders, was stationed in the old Salisbury road 
just in front of the North Carolina militia, opened fire on the British as 
soon as they appeared. The British with some three pounders responded. 
For a time there was a sharp artillery duel during which Cornwallis was 
putting his troops in line of battle. 

The British troops were disposed in the following order : 

On the right were placed Major General Leslie with the Hessian regi- 
ment of Bose led by Major du Buy and the 71st British regiment led by Col. 
Simon Fraser supported by the first battalion of the guards led by Colonel 
Norton. Leslie was confronted by Butler's militia and Campbell's corps. 
On the left were stationed the 23rd and 33rd regiments led by Col. Webster 
and supported by the Grenadiers and the second battalion of guards led by 
Brigadier General O'Hara. The German Jagers, with the light infantry of 
the guards, occupied a position in the woods on the extreme left of the line. 



These forces on the left were confronted by Eaton's North Carolina militia, 
Kirkwood's Delawares and Lynch's riflemen. Tarleton with his cavalry 
was drawn up in the road with orders to act as circumstances might demand. 

Cornwallis felt deeply the awful responsibility that rested upon him. 
Never did a commander exert himself more industriously, energetically or 
bravely to win victory. Defeat would be ruin. In that event he felt that 
the destruction of his army would be inevitable. He was 140 miles from 
Camden, the only place from which he could reasonably expect reinforce- 
ments ai^d almost an equal distance 'from Wilmington, the base of his sup- 
plies. He was conscious of the hollowness of the professions of loyalty 
made by the Tories. He directed the attack to be made on the left wing 
of the Americans where the woods were more open. His troops moved 
forward with confidence stirred by martial music and fluttering banners. 
He knew the spirit, the endurance, and the fortitude of his veterans ; he knew 
also that he was outnumbered nearly two to one and that his enemy was 
fighting for home, country, and liberty, and stirred by the strongest feelings 
of hatred and revenge. 

It was on Thursday afternoon, March 15, 1781, about half past one 
o'clock that the battle began. With great spirit Gen. Leslie moved forward 
and attacked Butler's North Carolina militia and Campbell's corps. Find- 
ing that he was so much outflanked, Leslie ordered the first battalion of the 
guards, which was stationed immediately behind the Hessians, forward into 
line. It was placed on the right of the Hessian regiment. The British 
forces on the right then moved forward and, according to the testimony of 
Capt. Dugald Stuart, a British officer who commanded a company of the 
71st regiment of Highlanders, received a deadly fire from the Scotch-Irish 
line of the American army, which was composed of marksmen lying on the 
ground behind the rail fence already mentioned. "One-half of the High- 
landers," says Capt. Stuart, "dropped on the spot. There ought to be a 
very large tumulus on the spot where our men lie buried." A part of the 
militia under Butler received the name Irish, or Scotch-Irish because they 
came from that portion of North Carolina settled by the Scotch-Irish. 

Campbell's corps withstood the onset bravely but fell back slowly be- 
fore the English bayonets. After one or two fires however, the North 
Carolina militia retreated precipitately and in disorder. 

Meanwhile the engagement on the north side of the old Salisbury road 
between the forces under Col. Webster and the militia under Gen. Eaton 
was animated and brisk. Col. Webster rode in front of his brigade and 
ordered a charge. In obedience to this order the British in a sharp run came 
within firing distance of Eaton's militia. They there observed that the 
whole force of the militia had their arms presented with rests upon a rail 
fence, taking the most deliberate aim. This is the testimony of Lamb, an 
English historian, who was, at the time, an officer of the 33rd regiment. 
Lamb further says : "At this awful period a general pause took place ; both 
parties surveyed each other for a moment with most anxious suspense. Col. 
Webster then rode forward in front of the 33rd regiment and said with more 
than his usual commanding tone, 'Come on mj^ brave fusileers.' This oper- 
ated like an inspiring voice. They rushed forward amidst the enem}''s fire, 




GUII.FORD Battle Ground, Soldiers' Monument 




The Woods— Guilford Hattle Ground 



and dreadful was the havoc on both sides. At last the Americans gave way 
and the brigade advanced to the attack of the second line." 

Tarleton, who afterwards wrote a history of his campaigns in America, 
says : "The order and coolness of that part of Webster's brigade which 
advanced across the open ground exposed to the enemy's fire can not be 
sufficiently extolled. The extremities were not less gallant but were more 
protected by the woods in which they moved. The militia allowed the front 
line to approach within 150 yards before they gave their fire. 

Capt. Singleton of the artillery who was stationed immediately behind 
the North Carolina militia told Jefferson that "the militia as well as the 
regulars behaved exceedingly well." 

The tribute to the coolness of Webster's brigade corroborated by a like 
statement, made by Stedman, another officer in Cornwallis' army dispels the 
idea that the North Carolina militia fled at the approach of the British forces 
without the firing of a gun. It is stated from the highest sources that Gen. 
Greene before the beginning of the battle gave the order to the North Caro- 
lina militia to fire twice and then fall back so as to be able to load again. 
Gen. Stevens, who commanded the Virginia militia on the left of the Amer- 
ican line, directed his men to open their ranks and let the retiring North 
Carolina militia pass through, as such had been the orders given out. Not- 
withstanding this testimony of eye-witnesses nearly all American historians, 
from Marshall and Ramsey to Irving and Lossing and Hildreth and Ban- 
croft and even Botta, the Italian historian, have branded the North Carolina 
militia with the rankest cowardice. Edmund Burke, in his very lucid ac- 
count of this battle written for the Annual Register in 1781, says : "The 
North Carolina militia shamefully abandoned their post and ran away with- 
out at all standing the conflict." Judge Schenck of North Carolina who has 
thoroughly and sympathetically studied the records of this battle, with the 
pride of a citizen, the spirit of a patriot and the reverence of a son and has 
also collated an array of testimony obtained from eye-witnesses, declares 
that the North Carolina militia did their full duty and only retired when 
driven by the bayonet and in accordance with orders previously given. 

There is no doubt that some of the North Carolina militia fled at the 
first onset of the British troops; but among the militia were many Tories 
who had been impressed into service. Some of the adherents of the Pre- 
tender Charles Edward who, after the battle of Culloden in 1746, fled to 
North Carolina and settled in that part of the state, of which Fayetteville is 
now the centre, were staunch Loyalists. 

Before the retreat of the North Carolina militia, as has already been 
mentioned the British received a most galling fire, not only from the front 
but from Washington's corps on the right and Campbell's and Lee's on the 
left. Webster was so hard pressed that he wheeled his regiments to the left 
so as to face Lynch's riflemen and Kirkwood's Delawares, thus leaving a 
vacancy on the old Salisbury road, which was filled by the second battalion 
of the guards. Lynch and Kirkwood were compelled to retreat under the 
terrible fire and form on the right of Lawson's brigade of Virginians. 

The fire of Campbell's corps on the left of the American line was so 
hot that Col. Norton, commanding the first battalion of the guards, was 
ordered to support the Hessians. This movement defeated the intention of 



10 

Campbell to put his corps on the left of Stevens' brigade of Virginia militia. 
He was cut off by the first battalion of the guards and became a detached 
force. Taking to the woods, however, he did such efficient work that the 
guards were compelled to retreat in disorder. Cornwallis himself came to 
their rescue and succeeded in rallying them. The Hessians and the guards 
now being united drove Campbell to the south so far that he never joined the 
main body of the American army again during the battle. Notwithstanding 
that Campbell was separated so far from the remaining American troops, he 
continued to fight. His men would retreat, load their rifles and fire. The 
British would then fall back and come again with their bayonets, pushing 
the riflemen back, so that in the end Campbell was driven fully a mile from 
his original position. 

The right of the British line having lost in their pursuit of Campbell's 
corps the services of the Hessians and the first battalion of the guards, the 
23rd regiment was ordered to join the 71st in its attack upon the Virginia 
militia under Stevens. To do this they had to cross from the north to the 
south side of the old Salisbury road. Webster at the same time with the 
33rd regiment assisted by the German Jagers and the light infantry attacked 
Lawson's brigade of Virginians, which soon gave way, crossed over the 
Salisbury road and took position in the rear of Stevens. They then clung 
to the skirts of the woods so as to escape the onset of Tarleton's dragoons. 

At this moment the conflict between Stevens' brigade and the 71st and 
23rd British regiments was dreadful. Three times Stevens' brigade drove 
back the British, and three times were they compelled to retreat before the 
enemy's bayonets. Their perseverance and valor were remarkable for raw 
troops and called forth the highest commendations of Gen. Greene. What 
made matters worse, Lee had abandoned the left wing of Stevens' brigade 
and had gone to the assistance of Campbell. This exposed the left flank 
which Tarleton charged vigorously, thereby compelling the Virginians to 
retreat, not, however, before General Stevens had been shot through the 
thigh and was forced to leave the field. 

But for the unfortunate absence of General Lee, leaving their left flank 
exposed, they might have won the field. As it was, they fell back on the 
Continental troops. 

The hardest fighting of the day was yet to come. Gen. Leslie, as will 
be remembered, with his Hessian troops and the first battalion of the guards 
had been engaged for probably an hour with Campbell's corps and Lee's 
legion. Leslie's troops suffered greatly and retired behind a ravine to await 
news from other parts of the field. Meantime Col. Webster, having driven 
Lawson with his Virginia militia to the rear of Stevens' brigade, did not 
stop to pursue them further but kept right on through the woods with the 
33rd regiment, the light infantry, and the Jagers. He was not accompanied 
by the second battalion of the guards or the 71st regiment, who had found 
plenty of work in the engagement with Stevens. Webster soon reached the 
western edge of an old field that sloped down on both sides to a wet weather 
branch in the center. On the eastern edge of this old field the Continental 
troops were in line. The ravine which separated the two forces was prob- 
ably 150 yards wide from crest to crest. Col. Webster ordered a charge and, 
like an avalanche down the slope, his forces rushed. In his front were the 



11 

first Maryland regiment, Hawes' Virginians, and Kirkwood's Delawares. The 
Americans awaited with coolness the approach of the enemy, and when Col. 
Webster reached a position within 40 paces of their front a volcanic burst 
of fire and lead was poured into the British ranks — a discharge was quickly 
followed by a furious onset with the bayonet. 

Webster's line first wavered and then broke and fled in disorder to the 
woods. Col. Webster received a wound in the knee, from the effects of 
which he died in a few weeks. 

The repelling of Webster's impetuous attack was the most critical period 
of the whole day. The fortune of the day at this instant says Burke 
"seemed only to hang by a hair." 

Botta thinks if the Americans had done all in their power just at that 
time, the British army would have been crushed. If they had taken posses- 
sion of the hill on the edge of the woods and brought their artillery into play^ 
victory would have been theirs. The English would have been unable to ad- 
vance fresh troops ; their left wing would have been separated from the cen- 
ter and right and the battalion of the guards would not have been able to 
recover from the confusion into which they were thrown. Had the Conti- 
nental troops been able to order forward their whole force, the victory 
would have been won within a few minutes but unfortunately Campbell and 
Lee were some distance from the scene of conflict. Gen. Leslie and his 
Hessians, being much nearer, were likely to come on the flank and rear of 
the Marylanders. The first Maryland regiment was ordered to fall back to 
its original position on the brow of the hill. Before it had reached the po- 
sition to which it had been ordered, Col. Stuart with the second battalion of 
the guards, O'Hara being wounded, and a company of grenadiers impetu- 
ously attacked the second Maryland regiment commanded by Col. Ford. It 
g-ave way at once and fled, leaving behind two field pieces which were seized 
by the enemy. Stuart pushed his victory until he was nearly in the rear 
of the first Maryland regiment. Col. Gunby, the commander, seeing this, im- 
mediately ordered a charge. Col. Washington occupying the ridge above the 
ravine followed with his cavalry. The disgraceful flight of the second 
Maryland regiment roused in him the fury of a lion. Immediately he 
sounded a charge and the impetuosity of his attack was terrific. Like a 
tempest, with lightning in his eye and thunder in his voice, he rushed with 
his troopers down the slope crossing the stream and swept with the resist- 
lessness of a hurricane upon the second battalion of the guards commanded 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart, striking and tearing backwards and forward 
through the enemy's line. The first Maryland regiment had charged 
Stuart's left flank, leaving gory heaps of dead and wounded on the field of 
battle. The two pieces of cannon were recovered. Stuart stood as im- 
movable as a rock. Cornwallis from the height above witnessed the terrible 
execution and unequal conflict. The situation required prompt and desper- 
ate action on his part to escape the threatened disaster. Stuart soon fell 
slain in a personal combat with Capt. John Smith of the first Marylanders. 
But one remedy suggested itself to Cornwallis and that was to order Lieut. 
McLeod, who had come up with the artillery, to open fire with grape shot 
upon the struggling mass of friend and foe. O'Hara, who had been dread- 
fully wounded and who lay bleeding in the road appealed to Cornwallis to 



12 

spare his men, but that commander was relentless. Either victory or defeat 
was the immediate issue. The shotted cannon were turned loose and the 
struggling body of soldiers were mown down like wheat. The Americans 
were driven back. The 23rd and 71st regiments of the British came up at 
this moment and Webster's bleeding command formed on them. These 
regiments attacked the right flank of the Americans while the second bat- 
talion of the guards at the same time fell upon their left supported by Tarle- 
ton who came up at full speed with his troopers. Major Joseph Winston of 
North Carolina, was fighting the Hessians and Tarleton when the Conti- 
nental troops fell back. Col. Gunby of the first Maryland was unhorsed in 
the charge and his Lieutenant-Colonel John Eager Howard took the com- 
mand and fought like a demon. 

Assailed at so many points at the same time, the American regulars 
began to fall back, yet presenting at every step a menacing attitude. They 
left upon the field of battle not only the two pieces of artillery, which they 
had recaptured, but two other pieces, losing indeed all their artillery; for 
the horses were killed and the soldiers were unable to drag it through the 
underbrush. The action lasted two hours or more, terminating about four 
o'clock in the afternoon. 

A thrilling episode was enacted during the battle that is of more than 
passing interest. It was the fight between Col. Stuart of the guards and 
Capt. John Smith of the first Marylanders. Both were men of high spirit 
and conspicuous for their strength and bravery. Johnson in his life of 
Greene, gave the following account of this combat : 

"The two men had met before and had vowed that their next meeting 
should end in blood. Regardless of the bayonets that were passing around 
them they rushed at each other with a fury that admitted of but one result. 
The quick pass of Stuart's small sword was skillfully put by with the left 
hand, whilst the heavy saber of his antagonist cleft the Briton to the spine. 
In one moment the American was prostrate on the lifeless body of his enemy 
and in the next was pressed beneath the weight of the soldiers who had 
brought him to the ground. Smith was stunned by the blow but not 
wounded." 

Edmund Burke in the Annual Register in concluding a very interesting 
account of the Battle of Guilford Court House says : 

"Thus ended the very sharp, hard-fought and exceedingly diversified 
action at Guilford — an action in which the perservering valor and admirable 
discipline of the British troops were most eminently distinguished. Nothing 
less, indeed, than an unlimited portion of the one and an unequaled per- 
fection in the other, could have triumphed against so great a superiority of 
force and such insuperable difficulties of ground. Lord Cornwallis declared, 
in public orders, that he should ever consider it as the greatest honor of his 
life, to have been placed at the head of so gallant an army; and the merit 
was so general, that every corps, and almost every officer above the rank of 
subaltern, received his public thanks and acknowledgments for their par- 
ticular and distinguished services." "On the other side it must be acknowl- 
edged," says Burke, "that several of the American corps disputed the day 
with great constancy; and that they rallied, returned the charge, and stood 
several severe shocks, with a perseverance and courage which would have 



13 

done honor to veteran troops. The rebel cavalry very much distinguished 
themselves. It would likewise seem that Greene showed no common share 
of ability in the drawing up of his army, the choice of his ground and the 
disposition of his force. Nor does any want of generalship appear in the 
course and conduct of the action." "In the whole the loss exceeded 500 
men of whom, though scarcely a fifth were killed on the spot, many died af- 
terwards of their wounds; and undoubtedly, a much greater number were 
disabled from all future service. At any rate, the army was deprived of 
about one-fourth its number, and that by no means the least effective. 
The guards lost Col. Stuart with Captains Schutz, Maynard and Goodricke, 
besides subalterns. Col. Webster, a brave, experienced and distinguished 
officer, who commanded the brigade on the left, died of his wounds, to 
no small loss of the service, and to the great regret of the general as well 
as the army. The Brigadier-Generals O'Hara and Howard as well as 
Col. Tarleton, and several others officers, were wounded." 

The American loss in killed and wounded was about 400. Several hun- 
dred of the militia returned to their homes. Judge Schenck puts the loss at 
only 320 but this is too small according to all reports of the battle, official 
and otherwise. 

This battle was won by British bayonets and not by the superior valor 
on the part of the British troops. No troops ever fought better or more 
persistently than the regular troops under Greene. These only were armed 
with bayonets. The troops without bayonets could not load their muskets 
fast enough to resist a charge. Whenever the troops on either side were 
armed equally, as was the case with the cavalry and regulars, the Americans 
proved themselves to be the best fighters. 

On the 17th Greene was at Speedwell Iron Works on Troublesome 
Creek 12 miles from Guilford Court House where he gathered his forces 
which he found to consist of 1,350 Continental soldiers, 1,500 militia and 600 
riflemen, a total of 3,450. He began the battle with 4,404 men, showing a 
total loss of nearly a thousand, killed, wounded and missing. 

The British were too much exhausted and demoralized to follow up this 
so-called victory. Tarleton with two regiments made a feeble attempt to 
pursue the American but was called back and efforts were made to collect 
the wounded of both armies, but night came on before it could be done. 

The day which had been bright and clear up to one o'clock was soon 
overcast with thickening clouds and by nightfall rain began to fall, which 
soon swelled into torrents. The darkness was intense. The army had no 
tents. There were but few houses to receive the wounded. Agonizing 
shrieks were heard from every side. Provisions were so scarce that many 
in the British army had tasted very little food for two days. There were 
absolutely no hospital supplies. "Nearly fifty of the wounded," says Sted- 
man, "sank under the aggravated miseries and perished before morning." 
The cries of the disabled and dying who remained on the field of battle 
during the night exceeded all description. "Such a complicated scene of 
horrors and distress," says this writer, "it is hoped for the sake of humanity 
rarely occurs even in military life." 

Cornwallis' loss, though not so great as Greene's was far more serious. 
Counting up his losses, he found that 93 had been killed, 413 wounded and 28 



14 

missing. This constituted a fourth of his army. Stuart was dead ; O'Hara 
and Howard were disabled; Webster was mortally wounded. His victory 
was, in fact, a terrible defeat. After burying his dead and providing as far 
as possible for his wounded, whom he left in care of the Quakers at New 
Garden meeting house, he set out two days afterwards, disheartened and dis- 
tressed, for the farther side of Deep River at Ramsey's Mill, where he could 
open communication with Wilmington, his base of supplies. Cornwallis had 
captured a few prisoners whom he confined in what was called a "bull pen" 
of rails on the edge of the woods where Butler's North Carolina militia 
were first stadoned. Here they spent the cold dreary rainy night, herded 
like cattle, almost famished, and chilled to the bone. They were offered 
their liberty the next morning if they would join the British army. They 
rejected the offer with disdain and when they heard the morning salute from 
Greene's guns away over the hills, an old soldier cried out : "The old cock 
is crowing again," and defiant shouts went up from that rail pen that made 
the welkin ring. 

Greene, after gathering his forces and hearing of Cornwallis' retreat, 
started in pursuit of him, the vanquished pursuing the victor. The weather 
was cold, the roads execrable and there was the greatest scarcity of provis- 
ions; yet Greene kept on and arrived at Ramsey's Mill on the 28th from 
which Cornwallis had fled but a few hours before in such haste that he left 
some of his wounded who had died on the march unburied and several quart- 
ers of beef, much to the relief of the American army. 

Though nominally the battle of Guilford Court House was a victory 
for Cornwallis it proved by after events to be the most terrible calamity that 
had happened to him during the war. He never recovered from it. His 
army was demoralized. He was afraid to return to South Carolina and 
afraid to stay in North Carolina. By June there were only three points 
held in South Carolina by the British. Cornwallis went to Virginia and 
on the 19th of October was forced to surrender at Yorktown. Charles 
James Fox from his place in the British Parliament said : "If the British 
army had been vanquished they could only have left the field and fled to the 
coast, precisely the measure Cornwallis was compelled to adopt. Another 
such victory," continues he, "would destroy the British army." The words 
attributed to Admiral Coligni might, with propriety, have been uttered by 
Greene. 1 might," said the admiral, "claim superiority over Alexander; 
over Scipio ; over Caesar. They won great battles. I have lost great battles 
and yet I show to the enemy a more formidable front than ever." 

As years elapse the tremendous importance of the battle of Guilford 
Court House comes more plainly into view. The so-called defeat of Greene 
was the main factor in terminating the war and establishing the liberties of 
the American people. It was in its far-reaching consequences the greatest 
of all the battles of the Revolutionary War. 

Thomas H. Benton in his Thirty Years View, says : 

"The philosophy of history has not yet laid hold of the Battle of Guil- 
ford, its consequences and effects. That battle made the capture at York- 
town. The events are told in every history; their connection and depend- 
ence in none. It broke up the plan of Cornwallis in the South and changed 
the plan of Washington in the North. Cornwallis was to subdue the 



15 

Southern States, and was doing it until Greene turned upon him at Guil- 
ford. Washington was occupied with Sir Henry Clinton, then in New 
York with 12,000 British troops. He had formed the heroic design to cap- 
ture Clinton and his army (the French fleet cooperating) in that city, and 
thereby putting an end to the war. All his preparations were going on for 
that grand consummation when he got the news of the Battle of Guilford, 
the retreat of Cornwallis to Wilmington, his inability to keep the field in 
the South and his return northward through the lower part of Virginia. 
He saw his advantage — an easier prey and the same result if successful. 
Cornwallis or Clinton, either of them, captured would put an end to the 
war. Washington changed his plan, deceived Clinton, moved rapidly upon 
the weaker general, captured him and his 7000 men and ended the Revolu- 
tionary War. The battle of Guilford put that capture into Washington's 
hands; and thus Guilford and Yorktown became connected; and the phil- 
osophy of history shows their dependence, and that the lesser event was the 
father to the greater." 

The Guilford Battle Ground Company incorporated by the legislature of 
North Carolina in 1887 has purchased and improved the site of this battle. 
Many handsome monuments have been built; the positions of all the lines of 
both armies have been marked and a museum established. The patriotism 
that suggested the preservation and beautifying of this battlefield is deserv- 
ing of the highest applause of the American people. 



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